Independent Interdisciplinary Booklet

INDEPENDENT INTERDISCIPLINARY

COME DISCOVER A PLACE WHERE YOU BELONG...

STERLING COLLEGE IS A PLACE...

FOR THINKERS

YOU LIKE THE MAJOR OFFERINGS THAT STERLING COLLEGE HAS TO OFFER, BUT YOU HAVE TOO MANY INTERESTS TO FIT INTO ONE MAJOR CATEGORY. OR MAYBE YOU CAN’T FIND A MAJOR THAT FITS YOUR PASSIONS AND LIFE CALLING. Check out Sterling College’s independent interdisciplinary major. What’s that mean? It means that we can work with you to customize a major that will prepare you for your future career or graduate program. Pair classes with communication and media arts with art and design to earn a degree in graphic communication. Or use the American Studies Program by Best Semester, where you spend a semester working with leaders in Washington, D.C., paired with classes in pre-law and sociology to create a major in social justice. Under the guidance of our faculty, a four-year plan that uses our current class offerings will be created to give you the experience and knowledge you need to succeed.

PROGRAM OPPORTUNITY BEST SEMESTER

The Best Semester Program is a study abroad program through the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities. Program locations include: Australia China Costa Rica India Los Angeles, Calif.

Middle East Nashville, Tenn.

Oxford Uganda Washington, D.C.

GUIDELINES 1.

If there is already a major which includes 60% of the proposed courses, the student must take the pre-existing major.

2.

The major must be truly interdisciplinary, demonstrating in its structure that cross-disciplinary connections have been made and that it includes at least two focal disciplines.

3.

The major must be planned with the support of a faculty adviser who teaches in one of its significant content areas and who agrees to supervise the student’s Senior Seminar research paper/project.

4.

The appropriate form must be completed indicating the department responsible for creative product, service project, and ethics instruction.

5.

The number of credits required in the major should be in the range of 40-50.

6.

The plan for the major, its descriptive title, and the degree designation must be approved by the Academic Policy Committee of the faculty by the end of the first semester of the student’s junior year.

7.

The student must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.

8.

70% or more of the courses in the major must be numbered 200 or above and sequenced wherever possible.

9.

The major must meet the “Objectives of a Major” by demonstrating that it provides: A. Knowledge of the disciplines’ contents and methods, B. Continuing development of skills related to the discipline’s content, and C. Values relating the discipline to worldview perspective. (See opposite page)

A SUCCESSFUL PLAN OF ACTION

There are guidelines to help students create a successful plan of action for their time here at Sterling College. Our majors have been designed with great care to include rigorous classes, purposeful assignments and field experience to prepare you for careers in that field. In order to combine majors through the independent interdisciplinary program, we expect the resulting major to be just as rigorous and thought out. Here are the guidelines to help you create such a program. Not sure exactly what to include? Talk to our faculty in your fields of interest to understand which classes will help you reach your goal.

A. KNOWLEDGE OF THE DISCIPLINES’ CONTENTS AND METHODS, INCLUDING THEIR: 1. Historical and philosophical background 2. Range of subject matter 3. Central principles 4. Generally accepted unifying perspectives (theories, laws, methods, systems, and models) Implementation of #9A Take a concentration of courses in one of the focal disciplines to develop a unifying perspective; take a balance of introductory and advanced courses in each focal discipline of the major in addition to the Senior Seminar; take a philosophy or research methods course related to the focal discipline(s).

B. CONTINUING DEVELOPMENT OF SKILLS RELATED TO THE DISCIPLINE’S CONTENT 1. Acquire information for producing creative projects 2. Analyze, synthesize, and evaluate primary source material 3. Write and speak critically and creatively 4. Prepare for advanced study and/or a career Implementation of #9B The proposal should identify the specific courses where each of these objectives will be met.

C. VALUES RELATING THE DISCIPLINE TO WORLDVIEW PERSPECTIVES. 1. Relate discipline-specific knowledge to other areas of inquiry.

2. Apply ethical guidelines to discipline-specific activity 3. Relate discipline-specific content to Christian faith 4. Use discipline-related information in providing service to one’s community.

Implementation of #9C 1.

Complete a research paper/project as a product of the Senior Seminar which demonstrates integration and synthesis of material from at least two disciplines.

2.

Complete an extended paper/project which demonstrates the application of ethical guidelines and the integration of faith in relationship to the focal disciplines of the interdisciplinary major. This paper may be a part of the Senior Seminar requirement but must be guided and read/graded by at least two faculty members who teach in different focal disciplines related to the major.

3.

Complete an adviser-approved service project that demonstrates fulfillment of objective #C4 above.

MAJOR

INDEPENDENT INTERDISCIPLINARY: GRAPHIC COMMUNICATIONS

COMBINES

ART: GRAPHIC DESIGN AND COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA ARTS

“Creating a custom interdisciplinary degree at Sterling was a really great solution for me. I loved the media side of communications and the graphics side of art, so I was able to design a major that fit the careers I wanted to pursue. Since graduation, I've had great jobs that fit my interests perfectly. I also went on to get my master's degree in digital media. I felt very prepared for graduate school and had valuable experience that helped me get interviews in my field. It ended up being the perfect way for me to prepare for my future and customize my academic experience.” -Matt Ehresman ’10 Come discover Sterling College.

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